1. Field of the Disclosure
The present disclosure relates to an air conditioner, and more particularly to an air conditioner in which the refrigerant path of a heat exchanger in cooling operation is different from the refrigerant path of the heat exchanger in heating operation, so that the optimal heat exchange efficiency may be maintained during the cooling/heating operation.
2. Background
In general, an air conditioner comprises a heating apparatus, a cooling apparatus, a heat pump, an air cleaner, and etc.
The air conditioner is an apparatus that cools or heats an indoor space by performing processes of compressing, condensing, expanding and evaporating a refrigerant. An conditioner is classified into a general air conditioner in which a single indoor unit is connected to an outdoor unit or a multi-air conditioner in which a plurality of indoor units are connected to an outdoor unit. The air conditioner includes a compressor, a condenser, an expanding valve and an evaporator. A refrigerant discharged from the compressor is condensed in the condenser and then expanded in the expanding valve. The expanded refrigerant is evaporated in the evaporator and then sucked into the compressor.
In the case of an air conditioner capable of performing cooling and heating operations, when the air conditioner is in the cooling operation, an outdoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser that condenses a high-temperature and high-pressure refrigerant discharged from a compressor into a liquefied refrigerant by performing heat exchange. An indoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator. When the air conditioner is in the heating operation, the outdoor heat exchanger serves as an evaporator that evaporates a refrigerant in a mixture state of gas and liquid collected from the indoor heat exchanger into a refrigerant that is in a gaseous state by performing a heat exchange. The indoor heat exchanger serves as a condenser.
In the conventional air conditioner, states of the refrigerant that passes through the outer heat exchanger are different in the cooling and heating operation, and flow rates of the refrigerant are different according to whether the state of the refrigerant is in liquefied or gaseous state. Further, performances of heat exchange are different from each other according to the flow rate of the refrigerant.